Dental burnishing devices



April 22, 1958 J. A. KERPEL DENTAL BURNISHING DEVICES Filed Oct. 10, 1956 United States Patent DENTAL BURNISHIN G DEVICES Julius A. Kerpel, New York, N. Y.

Application October 10, 1956, Serial No. 615,120

1 Claim. (Cl. 32-40) This invention relates generally to burnishing tools, and more particularly to an improved burnishing device especially adapted to dental use.

Devices of this type in a general sense are known in the art, and in the past dentists and dental mechanics have relied upon a plurality of tools to efiect burnishing of gold inlay margins, platinum matrices for porcelain jacket crowns and porcelain inlays, as well as the burnishing of tin foil and the like. One such tool comprises a spherical body on the end of a shank, the end being angularly related to the axis of the shank. Another such tool comprises a flat spatula-like instrument. Each tool is adapted to perform a particular operation, but only this operation so that where a series of burnishing operations are to be performed in a given area, it is necessary to utilize each of the tools. This is particularly disadvantageous where the area being treated is disposed within the mouth of a patient, and considerable time and effort is wasted in withdrawing and reinserting separate burnishing tools.

it is therefore among the principal objects of the present invention to provide a combination burnishing tool which may perform all necessary burnishing functions, thereby eliminating the necessity of employing a plurality of tools to accomplish the same result.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of a combination burnishing tool of the class described which may be used by the dentist or technician, with great facility, and which may be readily returned to a sanitary condition after use.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of a combination dental instrument of the class described in which the cost of fabrication may be of a reasonably low order, with consequent wide sale, distribution and use throughout the dental profession.

A further object of the invention lies in the provision of a dental instrument of the class described in which a plurality of burnishing operations may be performed by merely rotating the instrument axially to bring successive operative surfaces thereon into contact with the surface being treated.

These objects, as well as other incidental ends and advantages, will become more clearly apparent during the course of the following disclosure, and be pointed out in the appended claim.

On the drawing, to which reference will be made in the specification, similar reference characters have been employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing an embodiment of a burnishing tool comprising this invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary enlarged plan view showing the tip by which the burnishing operations are eifected.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary enlarged side elevational view of the tip.

Figure 4 is a vertical enlarged transverse sectional view as seen from the plane 44 on Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an end view as seen from the righthand portion of Figure l.

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In accordance with the invention, referring to Figure l of the drawing, a metallic shank 5 is fixedly seated within a handle 7 which may be of polished hard wood or composition, but which is preferably of metal so as to withstand the high temperatures and moisture necessarily involved in sterilizing operations. The end 9 of the shank 5 is tapered upwardly .at an angle of approximately 30 to the axis of the shank 5,.so that the end as a whole, as well as the tip 11 thereof and any surface or edge of the end can be applied to a surface in the mouth of a patient, irrespective of the orientation of the axis of the tool made necessary by the inserting of the same through the patients open mouth. The end edge 11 is rounded as may be seen on Figure 2, and it will be noted that the end edge is not semi-circular as viewed on that figure but rather at the mid portion thereof the same is relatively narrow, that it is to stay on an arc of relatively short radius. The edge merges to the sides on a compound curve of progressively increasing radii.

One surface indicated by reference character 12 of the end 9 is flat, commencing at the point 13 and extending to the point 15. This surface presents a relatively broad area for burnishing most surfaces. A second burnishing surface indicated by reference character 16 is defined by the end edge 11, this surface being in the form of a cylinder of increasing or diminishing radius. It will be observed that the surface 13 is well able to perform the burnishing functions of the spatula-like instrument mentioned hereinabove, while the surface 16 performs the burnishing operations requiring spherical bodies of varying diameters.

It may thus be seen that I have provided a dental burnishing tool which has no sharp edges or points which would tend to tear matrices or cause saw tooth edges on gold inlays and the like, and which is provided with relatively thin narrow rounded ends leading to curved edges of short radius as well as flat and rounded surfaces of innumerable radii whereby every conceivable situation requiring burnishing may be effectively treated.

-I wish it to be understood that I do not consider the invention limited to the precise details of structure shown and set forth in this specification, for obvious modifications will occur to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.

I-claim:

A combination burnishing tool for dental use comprising: a shank having a principal axis and a substantially cylindrical outer surface; said shank including an operative end having a first burnishing surface of relatively wide area and relatively large radius of curvature, the curved plane of said area lying at an acute angle with respect to said principal axis, and merging tangentially with .a portion of said outer surface; said operative end having a second burnishing surface of relatively narrow area in the form of a compound curve, the centers of curvature of which lie within a plane passing through said shank portion and parallel to the axis thereof; said last mentioned surface including a central portion which is a curve of relatively short radius merging into curves on each side of progressively greater radii.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES S. S. White General Catalog, Philadelphia, 1934, page 77, item 28, page 83, item K. 

